ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Iran, Islamic Rep.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan. Upper middle income. Capital: Tehran. Population 92,417,681 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
10,605 13,975 17,344 1995 2025 16,834
GDP growth (%)
−3.5 2.5 8.6 1995 2025 −2.8
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
8.1 28.5 48.8 1995 2025 42.2
Life expectancy at birth (years)
68.1 72.9 77.7 1995 2024 77.9

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 16,834 2025 +1,452 +1,992 107 of 199
GDP growth% −2.8% 2025 −7.3 pp −1.4 pp 206 of 209
GDP per person growth% −3.7% 2025 −7.4 pp −1.0 pp 203 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 4,650 2025 +670 −810 133 of 201
Trade% of GDP 60.2% 2025 +16.4 pp +20.8 pp 127 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 0.5% 2025 0.0 pp 0.0 pp 160 of 195

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 42.2% 2025 +11.6 pp +29.7 pp 5 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 8.3% 2025 −1.4 pp −2.9 pp 53 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 92,417,681 2025 +4,694,238 +9,798,319 17 of 217
Population growth% annual 0.9% 2025 +0.2 pp −0.4 pp 105 of 217
Urban population% of total 77.4% 2025 +1.8 pp +4.0 pp 69 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 77.9 2024 +1.0 +2.2 76 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 10.3 2024 −1.8 −4.2 113 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 6.0% 2023 −0.6 pp +0.3 pp 104 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 88.9% 2023 +2.0 pp +4.3 pp 45 of 86
Government spending on education% of GDP 2.8% 2023 −0.8 pp 0.0 pp 138 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 85.3% 2024 +12.9 pp +46.0 pp 81 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 100.0% 2024 0.0 pp 0.0 pp 41 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 35.9 2023 −1.5 +1.9 37 of 85
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 2.5% 2023 −0.7 pp +0.6 pp 30 of 85

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 0.9% 2021 −0.1 pp 0.0 pp 195 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 15,931 +1.0 17,730 15,000 876 +1.3% 34% 33%
GDP growth 2.6% −1.4 3.2% 3.2% 3.9 – – –
GDP per person growth 1.4% −1.3 3.2% 1.9% 3.9 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 4,941 −0.5 7,775 5,475 608 −1.6% 13% 20%
Trade 46.5% +2.5 79.8% 83.8% 5.6 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 0.5% −0.2 2.4% 2.0% 0.2 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 28.0% +0.9 3.3% 1.8% 15.2 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 10.3% −1.2 5.5% 9.0% 1.7 – – –
Population 87,250,761 +1.8 6,549,143 11,520,684 2,911,624 +1.1% 3,154% 3,144%
Population growth 1.2% −1.0 0.5% 1.6% 0.2 – – –
Urban population 75.3% +1.7 65.4% 79.5% 1.2 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 76.0 +1.5 74.5 76.7 1.2 – – –
Infant mortality 12.5 −1.7 11.2 12.0 1.3 – – –
Health spending 6.5% −0.4 6.2% 5.6% 1.2 – – –
Adult literacy rate 86.5% +1.6 94.8% 94.4% 1.5 – – –
Government spending on education 3.1% −0.6 4.1% 4.5% 0.4 – – –
Internet users 66.4% +1.2 82.0% 86.6% 15.5 – – –
Access to electricity 100.0% +0.3 100.0% 100.0% 0.0 – – –
Gini index (inequality) 35.7 +0.2 39.0 34.5 1.0 – – –
Poverty headcount ratio 3.3% −1.0 2.2% 2.3% 0.8 – – –
Renewable energy 1.0% −1.0 13.8% 3.7% 0.1 – – –

Compare Iran, Islamic Rep. with other countries